Jeremiah Orne

The father of Missituk University, Jeremiah Orne was a prosperous ship captain whose wealth helped revitalize New Jerusalem in the years before the American Revolution. Orne was an active member in the Triangle Trade, and made trading runs throughout the Caribbean. Flagging rum fortunes pushed Orne into the spice trade in his later years—Orne made two trips to the Mediterranean and even went around the Horn to the East Indies. He died suddenly of an illness in the prime of life. Childless, Captain Orne’s will devoted his money, library, and extensive collection of art and loot from around the world to build a new school from the remnants of New Jerusalem College.
Would-be biographers of Jeremiah Orne have a hard time following the captain’s travels. There are hints in records and journals of the time that Orne suffered a falling-out with New Jerusalem’s bourgeoisie after he settled permanently there in 1761. Orne’s library goes unmentioned before his death, nor is there record anywhere of George Locksley having known or of having sailed with Jeremiah Orne. Nonetheless, Orne’s will spelled out the charter for Missituk Liberal College in exacting detail, and the will named Orne’s “close friend” George Locksley as one of the first trustees. It also provided that the Tetlow clan of Pequoiag (later known as Athol) be endowed with the post of museum caretaker in perpetuity. As odd as these provisions were, they were never challenged and continue to be accepted today.

Year of Death

1765 CE